Boring and Monotonous
Indian television has become boring and monotonous. There is hardly any content in the serials. And every other channel has the same kind of saas-bahu dramas. The reality shows are also adaptations from the channels overseas, sometimes with the same theme. If Sony entertainment has Indian Idol, Zee TV has Sa Re Ga Ma, Star TV has Jo jeeta wohi superstar… and Colors have Surukshetra. As a viewer….what I want to know is that why is this monotony there??? It is a similar competition with different names. Sometimes seeing the fights with the judges in these shows tells me that it’s not even a reality show and completely scripted.
A country like India with a lot of talent and creativity is capable of much more than this. The problem is shows here are based on TRP ratings and I believe it’s the most unfair way to judge the fate of a show. There are some sets of viewers to contribute to good TRP…..so makers are not willing to take the risk and are still stuck to the same daily soap drama.
Look at the international TV industry...there are various themes...there are comedy shows (How I met your mother, Friends, Big bang theory, Modern family,), investigation shows (Mentalist, Bones, CSI), daily soaps (Bold and the beautiful), medical shows (House, Greys anatomy, ER ), musicals (Glee), reality shows and then Fantasy Fictions such as Heroes, Smallville many more...I can go on. There is a huge choice there...everyone can choose what they want to watch. Here in India there is only the same kind of daily soaps with ‘rona dhona’ and kitchen politics. All I want to say is that not all shows need to be a daily soap that too with the same themes.
I wish the makers and the channel realize that there is a huge set of audience who would like to watch something different. Especially when most of the Indian channels are reaching globally...there will be a whole new set of viewers for such shows.
Bringing about change is something that should come from within the industry. TV industry is exhausting and the working hours are too much. Also it gets monotonous. I recently read Shruthi Seth's interview where she mentions all the characters in the Indian TV look alike...there is not much change.
I have heard from many actors that TV is exhausting and need long hours of work. The actors do get tired and there is much creative dissatisfaction. Here I would like to quote Barun Sobti from his recent interview in Tinsel Gupshup, “People feel that television is looked down upon and films are bigger and better but it’s not like that at all (http://tinyurl.com/a8kdl6t). I don’t know about other people but for me television is extremely grueling and it is very difficult to carry on doing the same thing over and over again for a long time”. The actors can talk about their needs and preferences...in the long run I feel the change can be only made if the channel want to...and of course the big production houses should be willing to do this. It’s a big step...but gradually can be done.
What I want to say here is, if there are 20 daily soaps; to start with make 5 of them weekly. Creativity improves, working schedules are better for actors, there will be creative satisfaction...there will be a lot of change and they also get to work in other projects simultaneously...not only movies but other shows too. Long working hours for the actors are tiring and doing same thing every day becomes monotonous. I would also quote Kunal Karan Kapoor from his interview in Tinsel Gupshup, “I think the TV industry has killed my passion. Don’t get me wrong, I love acting but television is extremely hard and at some point you start pining for a normal, sane existence" (http://tinyurl.com/cbjypv6)
As viewers again we can only voice opinions in any media sites or channels. Again the big decision to make that change lies with the makers. I feel we should voice out our opinion. If the change is made...and there is enough publicity about it...there will be many more viewers, young and old.
Recently I read in the Mad Midas FB page that a new series called “Bandiish”…staring Karan Tacker and others is not going on air as none of the channels are willing to take it up and they are playing it safe. This is not what we want…..channels should be bold enough to make the change…..it’s high time now to move away from this kitchen politics. I do like to watch shows with some realistic themes like Rishta.com or Maahi Ve. There are many concepts…everyone should explore. I feel the actors will enjoy this and the viewers too. Together we can voice out our opinion to all the channels here…..and make some change in the Indian television industry.
Nausheen
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